Speakers at Elgin's remembrance of the events of 9/11 stressed the positives they saw in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

"It's hard to believe 16 years have passed since that fateful day," Tricia Dieringer of Elgin American Legion Post 57 said outside City Hall on Monday. "It's important to remember what happened and the resiliency our people, our nation has always shown."

The hurricane-related efforts underway in Texas and Florida provide further example that in times of trouble Americans reach out to help each other, Dieringer said.

Mayor Dave Kaptain said that we cannot deny that Sept. 11, 2001 was a dark day, but the bright side was the way people came together to lend a hand.

On Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists linked to radical extremist Muslim terror group al Qaeda launched coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. with another, thwarted attempt resulting in a plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. As a result, about 3,000 people died, nearly 6,000 were injured and the United States wound up engaged in long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

People are inundated with news about the dark side, Kaptain said, and there should be more talk of the good, from what happened after 9/11 to the relief efforts happening now in Houston.

By Mike Danahey/Courier-News

Elgin Police Lt. James Lalley plays the bagpipes during the city's ceremony Monday morning to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

"After what happened on Sept. 11, I saw people change. People were willing to help each other. In my own neighborhood this summer, after a big storm, people were out helping each other clean up. That's what this country should be like."

Fire Chief Dave Schmidt told those gathered that when firefighters die, tradition is for members of other departments or fire houses to attend the funeral services. After Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City there was smaller firefighter attendance at memorials in part because there were 343 NYC fire department funerals and many first responders were busy at the World Trade Center site, sifting through debris looking for bodies.

Schmidt and eight other Elgin firefighters headed to New York for three days, where they visited fire stations in five boroughs, attended seven funeral services and saw the ruins of the World Trade Center.

The experience showed that people were determined to be defined by their resiliency, not their fear, Schmidt said, and he urged people to get involved and do things in their communities.

Police Chief Jeff Swoboda recalled the days and months after 9/11 showed how the country responds when people are in need.

"We all need to commit to identifying evil, intolerance and hate and to never sitting by quietly when people act to harm each other," Swoboda said.

During her remarks, guest speaker Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti also recalled how people came together to help each other.

Two stories from Sept. 11 that moved her were those of New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge and Wheaton resident Todd Beamer.

Judge became one of the first officially recorded victims of the two planes colliding into the World Trade Center. He died at the World Trade Center while saying prayers for those involved in the rescue efforts and the injured. He was also giving last rites to those who already had perished. His actions showed the goodness of the American people, Sanguinetti said.

Beamer was one of the passengers onboard United Airlines Flight 93, which had been hijacked by terrorists. He and a group of other passengers prevented the plane from heading to Washington, D.C. by fighting with the terrorists. The flight crashed in a field near Shanksville, Penn.

Sanguinetti said the actions of Beamer and the others showed the importance of doing something beyond ourselves and of facing malice and hatred with courage. She told the audience to think about the goodness that makes us Americans.

Dieringer concluded the commemoration by suggesting those there hug their loved ones, say hello to strangers and help those in need.

Sandy Wyruchowski and Deb Engel of Elgin attended the ceremony out of respect for those who died that day, Wyruchowski said.

Of all the talk of helping each other, Engel said, "I think we need to hear more of that. Sometimes out of horrible things, some good can come."